Getsu Fūma Den

Game Overview

Konami really enjoyed making weird games back in the NES era. The middle era of the NES (marked by a transition away from arcade style titles, like Donkey Kong and Xevious into games specifically built for the console) noted an expansion of ideas, pushing the bounds of what could be done on the console. There was more emphasis on RPG ideas, greater variety of platforming concepts, and a bigger push to really see just what a game could be.

For Konami’s part this meant diving deep into the then nascent MetroidvaniaAt the intersection of Metroid and Castlevania lies the exploration platformer genre, the game style with heroes wandering expansive worlds, looking for items to expand their quest, known as Metroidvania. genre (before it even had that name or fully-formed concept). The company went all in on strange, weird, and interesting ideas, throwing a lot at the wall to see what stuck. Each platformer they created during this era tried something new, something interesting, adding in various elements of exploration and character development to try and find a winning formula that players would respond to. Games like Castlevania II: Simon's QuestThe first true sequel in the franchise, and one of the few direct sequels ever released. It was the first game in the series to introduce players to the concepts that would eventually become the Metroidvania genre., The GooniesBased on the 1985 family film of the same name, this adventure platformer title never made it to the U.S. but its style still helped Konami expand its exploration ambitions. A sequel, The Goonies II, did eventually reach the U.S., though, creating some amount of confusion for Western fans of the film., and Konami Wai Wai WorldOne of the stranger games released from Konami on the NES, this title features mascots crossover together in a Metroidvania-style adventure. each explored different aspects of this as the company looked for ideas that worked and a formula that could be expanded upon.

The Japan-exclusive Getsu Fūma Den neatly fits into that development style. Released in 1987, the game featured a strange blend of overworld exploration, linear combat zones, and over-the-shoulder dungeon crawling. These were very different, some might even say incompatible ideas mashed together and, much like with Nintendo’s Zelda II: The Adventure of LinkThe first sequel for Nintendo's Zelda series, this game was a marked departure in gameplay and style from the first adventure. Developed by Nintendo R&D4, who were responsible for the Super Mario series as well, this game was an action platformer with some exploration elements, which felt very strange when compared to its predecessor., it’s arguable how well it really worked. Certainly it made for a creatively rich game that didn’t feel like much else the company put out at the time, but it also led to a game that really only worked for a narrow audience, especially once you factored in the heavy emphasis on Japanese mythology and art worked into the game.

The game, featuring the quest of demon hunter Getsu FūmaThird and youngest brother of the Getsu clan, young Fūma has to pick up the clan's legendary sword when his two brothers fall in battle against the demons. The fate of the world is in Fūma's hands., is a real oddity. Its blend of artistic elements made it an awkward fit for export, and its strange blend of gameplay concepts also left it feeling a little under baked. Had it only had platforming sections connected by an overworld, it might have compared favorably to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link or Bionic Commando. The over-the-shoulder dungeons, though, were the weird choice that pushed the game maybe too far for most players. It was a distinct and different game mode, one clearly modeled on RPG trends of the time despite this being far more of an action game. It felt like you went into a dungeon and loaded up a completely different, unrelated game.

For these reasons, it’s no surprise that the game, odd and interesting as it was, didn’t make the jump out of Japan. Its art style wouldn’t have been as familiar to audiences outside its home country, and the effort of translating the game (when its sales likely weren’t as high as other mainstream Konami titles) was cost prohibitive. It ended up a niche title that most, outside of Japan, had never heard of.

At least not until the release of Castlevania: Harmony of DespairKonami's entry into the online massive multiplayer market, this game features teams of heroes going into Dracula's Castle to fight the demon, with rare loot and extra goodies to grab along the way.. That game, published worldwide in 2010, was a crossover online game featuring various heroes from the Castlevania universe. And, interestingly, it also brought back Getsu Fūma as well. He was included in the final gameplay DLC, “Chapter 11: The Legend of Fūma”, which brought not only the character to the world of Castlevania but also a stage based on his world. It helped introduce Fūma to new fans, and brought a reappraisal to his class title. Suddenly Getsu Fūma Den had fans, ones that were interested not only in his adventure but maybe seeing where the story went next.

And an answer eventually did come, 12 years later, when Konami developed (along with GuruGuru) a roguelike sequel, Getsu Fūma Den: Undying MoonReleased 35 years after the original Getsu Fūma Den, this late in the making sequel changed up the formula, swapping Metroidvania and first-person dungeon elements for roguelike gameplay reminiscent of Dead Cells.. The legend lived on for a new generation of players…